Iraq Issues

After last Wednesday’s discussion of the ethics in determining whether or not the United States has the obligation of treating innocent civilians of Iraq with equal justice, I would like to present my thoughts on the subject.
In Michael Moore’s documentary, “Fahrenheit 9/11,” there contains a segment in which viewers are shown the killing of innocent civilians in Iraq. By doing so, the United States has taken from the Iraqi people the ability to live, Nussbaum’s number one central human capability. A question that arises from this conflict is: Is it the responsibility of the American military to fight it’s battles while keeping in mind the ten essential capabilities to good life? I think that yes, it is the right of the American military to protect the abilities of civilians from any country in any war. This is because I believe that the United States should treat the world as an equal society. To achieve social justice in global matters, the United States must give the capability for people all around the world the right to Nussbaum’s ten functions. This, however, does not absolutely rule out the justification of war. If in war, militaries can limit themselves only to the killing and destruction of purely military based units and structures, then civilians will always have the capability to live freely while having the ability to perform the ten necessary functions. This is keeping in mind the fact that a countries’ soldiers are fighting solely based on personal choice, rather than federal enforcement. This allows every person in the world the ability to choose not to risk his or her life in war, thus enabling everyone the ability of life. Therefore, I am arguing that all militaries, when fighting a war, should not justify the killing of civilians, due to the central foundation of similarity every human possess on this earth: the properties of a human being. All people should respect this similarity across the world, and therefore all races, religions, and nations should treat people equally. Consequently, if the United States eliminates the killing of innocent civilians, they will allow Iraqis the ability to live, Nussbaum’s first and foremost capability to what dictates a “good human life.”